1. Technical Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a mail collection point-of-use for reducing the spread of hazardous materials deposited in a mail collection point-of-use to processing equipment in a mail delivery system. In particular, they relate to a mail receptacle which reduces the force of impact experienced by deposited mail, and a mail collection point-of-use which provides an indication of the detection of hazardous materials within it, prior to the removal from the point-of-use of a mail receptacle and its contaminated mail.
2. Description of Related Art
Standard postal points-of-use include the familiar curbside mail collection boxes. They also include the PS 1814 face plate drop unit and 1577 letter drop units in the wall of a lobby of a post office or other building. Points-of-use installed in the wall have corresponding mail receptacles on the opposite side of the wall in a workroom, where the process of mail delivery begins with sortation. A curbside mail collection point-of-use has a mail receptacle within it.
Mail deposited into a postal point-of-use slides and falls from the point of deposit to a landing place, which, in an empty mail receptacle, is the bottom of the mail receptacle. The bottom of the mail receptacle is approximately a meter below the point of deposit. The force of impact with which the mail hits the bottom of the mail receptacle can cause any powdery substance within the mail to escape through openings or porous surfaces into the air. Moreover, as additional mail is deposited on top of the deposited contaminated mail, the contaminated mail becomes compressed, which can force more powdery hazardous material into the air.
In mail receptacles accumulating mail from building lobbies, the mail receptacle has an open top. Thus the air in and near the mail receptacle is not isolated from the rest of the work area containing the mail receptacle. With all types of mail collection points-of-use, a mail handling employee regularly checks to see when the mail receptacle is full. The employee removes the full mail receptacle and places an empty one in its place to accumulate newly deposited mail by customers. The full mail receptacle is taken to the next mail delivery processing equipment. During that subsequent mail processing step of sorting, the pieces of mail are compressed further, enabling any powdery hazardous material contained in the mail to escape the mail through openings or porous surfaces and contaminate the surrounding air and equipment. Contamination of the air and equipment places mail handling employees at risk of exposure to hazardous materials. There is a need to prevent contamination of the air in the work area and the spread of hazardous materials to further mail processing equipment.
Events of 2001 involving anthrax pointed out the need for early detection of hazardous materials in mail or otherwise placed in the mail delivery system for health and successful investigation of the perpetrators, and preferably prior to the mail reaching automated equipment which spread the anthrax within the postal service work areas.